Speed and cut-off indicator for locomotives



March s, 1938. w. B. WAIT 2,110,456

SPEED AND CUT-OFF INDICATOR FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed Jan. 26, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR W/LL lAM BELL [1440f mmmii March s, 1938. w. B. Wm 2,110,456

SPEED AND CUT-OFF INDICATOR FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed Jan. 26, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR mun/v BELL H/fl/ ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1938 PATENT OFFICE SPEED AND OUT-OFF mmoa'roa F0 LOCOMOTIVES William mu Walt, New York, N. Y. I Appllcation January 26, 1935, Serial No. 3,600

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in speed and cut-off indicators for locomotives. Such indicators are usually provided with a hand which moves over a dial to show the instant speed of the locomotive and also with another hand which shows the instant setting of the cut-ofl valve gear in terms of speed. The hands are so correlated that when one overlies the other the engineer will know that his valve gear is set for maximum draw-bar pull of the locomotive at the particular speed indicated by the speed hand. If the cut-off hand departs from the speed hand in one I direction it indicates waste of fuel, while if it departs therefrom in the opposite direction it indicates economy of fuel.

An object of the present invention is to provide means which will show the locomotive engineer not only the directions in which waste and economy are respectively indicated but also a permissible range of cut-ofl settings. v

On every locomotive or class of locomotives there is for each particular speed a particular cut-off setting which will produce maximum tractive effort and another shorter cut-ofi which at each particular speed and load will produce maxi mum fuel economy. There is also on each locomotive or class of locomotives foreach incidental speed a point beyond which the percentage of piston stroke should not be shortened when the locomotive is working and under load without a loss of efliciency and economy. It is an object of the present invention to provide means for indicating such limiting point for each speed of the locomotive.

On each locomotive or class of steam locomotives there is also a low limit below which the cut-01f should not be shortened regardless of speed when the engine is working. It is an object of the'present invention to provide means for indicating such cut-off limit.

My invention also contemplates the provision of means for indicating the requisite cut-ofi settings in terms of percentage of piston stroke. Up to' recent times, railroad men have always considered cut-ofl settings in terms of percentage of piston stroke, and since it is sometimes diflicult for them to change from a' life long habit and consider cut-off in terms of speed, it is desirable to provide an instrument which will indicate the cut-off settings in percentage of piston .stroke.

My invention also contemplates an instrument in which the cut-off indication in terms of speed may be entirely eliminated. In one form of my invention, I provide a speedometer having means correlated therewith for showing solely in terms of percentage of piston stroke the cut-off setting for each speed that will give maximum draw-bar pull, thereby eliminating the speed corrected cutoff indicating mechanism and the means connecting the same with the cut-off valve gear which have heretofore been used in speed and cut-off indicators.

A further object of the invention is to provide an instrument ofthe character just described in which the indication of cut-off settings for maximum draw-bar pull are supplemented by an indication, for each speed and in terms of percentage v of piston stroke, of a permissible range of shorter cut-offs for economy when maximum tractive efiort is not required.

Since the range of permissible cutoff settings varies with different locomotives and/or classes of locomotives, it is a further object of my invention to provide means for conveniently adapting the cut-off indications to suit the particular loco-- motive or class to which the instrument is applied.

Other objects and advantages of 1m; invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment and a modification thereof and thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of my improved speed and cut-off indicator;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental view in section of the dial portion of the indicator, the section being taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a modified form of speed and cut-off indicator in which cut-off settings are shown in terms of percentage of piston stroke;

on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; v

Fig, 5 is a plan view of a removable scale of cut-ofi settings used in the instrument shown in Figs. 3 and 4; and,

Fig. 4 is a fragmental view in section, taken Fig. 6 is a similar view of another scale adapted to give maximum draw-bar pull for the particular speed indicated by the speed hand.

The casing oi my improved instrument is indicated by the reference numeral It. This casing carries a dial II which has suitable graduations l2 thereon, reading clockwise and indicating miles per hour. A speed hand I I is mounted to swing over the dial, being controlled by mechanism, such as described above, so. that it will indicate the instant speed 01' the locomotive. Mounted to turn on the same axis is a cut-oi! hand it which is driven by mechanism, such as described above, to indicate the instant cut-oil! setting of the locomotive in terms of speed. A glass or other transparent cover I! ilts over the hands and dial. The cut-oil hand It is mounted to pass under or back of the speed hand It. The latter is provided near its outer end with a wing ll extending in counter-clockwise direction and the wing-may bear the word Waste". Another wing l1 extends in the opposite direction and may bear theword Economy". On thebody o! the hand itself maybe marked the word Power".

In operation, .when the locomotive is being brought up to speed and from that point of speed at which the locomotive should be hooked up, that is, the point at which thecut-otl should be first shortened, the engineer should endeavor to 5 keep thev cut-oil. and the speed hands alined by proper manipulation of thereversing lever or power reverse gear. As long as the speed hand I! directly overlies the cut-ofl' hand, he will know that he isobtaining maximum draw-bar pull. Whenever the cut-oi! hand lags so that it passes under the wing marked "Waste" the engineer will know that he is wasting fuel. When the locomotive has got up to desired speed the engineer may shorten the percentage of cutoil by operating the reversing lever so that the cut-oi! handiwill advance under the wing marked "Economy". The wings may be graduated, as shown, to gage the extent of separation of the two hands. The length oi" the wing I] serves to indicate for each speed the permissible range of settings shorter than that giving maximum draw-- bar pull and the engineer should keep the cutoil hand within the span oi. the wing I]. However, since the wing is oijilxed length it will be evident that when the speed hand'climbs to a high figure, such as, say, seventy miles an hour in the particular instrument illustrated, the wing II will extend too far, i. e., it would indicate a permissible cut-oil that would be entirely too short for the particular locomotive. We may assume that for said locomotive the cut-oil limit would be 25 per cent. of piston stroke and that this percentage is reached when the cut-oirhand points to ll. I,-theretore, provide a shaded segment" between the markings II and be formed. on the under side oi the cover II, or, it desired, it may be formed I onthe face 01' the am itself. This will serve as a warning to the locomotive engineer that when working the engine he must not shorten the by the speed cut-oi! beyond the point at which the cut-oi! hand I would enter this shaded area.

' spread to suit a diii'erent locomotive or class of l locomotives. Also, in order to set the minimum perecentage oi cut-oi! ior diii'erent classes of l! locomotives, a difl'erent glass cover may be provided for each locomotive or class of locomotive with a shaded area marked thereon oi the proper angular extent to suit such particular locomotive or class. Where the low or short limit of cut-oi! ll percentage is indicated by shading the dial iace itself, it will be obvious that different dial faces may be provided for diiierent locomotives 'or classes of locomotives.

In Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive, I show another form I of my invention in which cut-oi! settings are indicated in percentage of piston stroke. This instrument comprises a casing 20 in which is located at 2| a suitable driving mechanism for operating a speed hand 22 and a cut-oi! hand 28. ll These hands move over a dial 2 which is graduated in miles per hour or any other suitable measure of speed. If desired, the cut-oi! hand 23 may be eliminated together with the actuating mechanism therei'or. However, there are some advantages in using the cut-oi! hand which is driven like the hand II in Fig. 1, by proper connection with the reversing gear through correcting mechanism 0! the type adapted to translate the cut-oil. settings into termsoi speed.

The speed hand 12 is mounted on a sleeve 2! which carries a bevel pinion 26. This is engaged by a bevel pinion ,21 mounted on a vertical shaft 28. This shaft drives through spiral gears 20, a transverse shaft 30. vMounted on the shaft 8. are two drums II and 82. In the casing 20 are formed windows It and 34 which are provided at the central horizontal axis thereof with ilxed pointers I5 andrespectively. Removably mounted on the drum II is a flexible scale II which is graduated to indicate cut-oi! settings in terms of percentage 0! piston stroke. This scale is visible through the window 33 and is read with respect to the pointer 35. Another scale I. mounted on the drum 3! may be seen through the window I and is read with respect to pointer 36. This scale 39 is also graduated in terms of percentage of piston stroke, but. the relative positions of the two scales are such that the scale 3| will indicate the cut-on setting which will give maximum draw-bar pull for the speed indicated hand, while at the same time the scale I. will indicate the range of cut-oi! for fuel economy and the minimum cut-oi! setting in terms of percentage of piston stroke which should be used at that particular speed.

In operation then, ,as the speed hand swings over thefdial it will move the drums II and I2 correspondingly and the operator by reading the figure on the scale 38 opposite the pointer I] will know to what percentage of piston stroke he must set his reversing gear in, order to obtain maximum draw-bar pull. Aiter the locomotivehas attained the desired speed he may economise i'uel by advancing the cut-oil, or,-in other words, set- 70 ting it for a lower percentage oi piston stroke than that indicatedon the scale ll. The other scale ll will then show him therange oi cut-oil for fuel economy and the minimum setting which he should use tor the particular speed. II

In Figs. and 6, I show two of the scales which may be employed on the drum 32. The scale 39 is adapted for one type of locomotive, indicated in Fig. 5 as type X, while the scale 39a. illustrates a scale adapted for use on another type of locomotive, indicated in Fig. 6, as type Y. Thus, by the simple expedient of shifting scales, it is possible to adapt the instrument for different types of locomotives. It will be observed that the lower portion of each scale 39 and 39a is shaded. This shaded party may in actual practice be colored red to indicate the limit beyond which the cut-01f setting should never be lowered for the particular locomotive to which the instrument is applied, when the locomotive is being worked. In the particular scales illustrated, a cut-off setting of 25 per cent. of piston stroke is indicated as the absolute permissible limit, but, obviously, this limit would vary. on different scales according to the characteristics of the particular locomotive to which the instrument was applied. In operation, the engineer would be warned against further lowering of the cut-off setting when the red portion of the scale came into view opposite the pointer 36.

While I have described two embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are to be taken as illustrative and not limitative and that I reserve the right to make various changes in form, construction and arrangement of parts, as may fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A speed and cut-off indicator for a locomotive, comprising a dial, a speed hand movable over thedial in response to variations of speed of the locomotive, a cut-off hand movable over the dial in response to variations in settings of the cut-oiI valve gear, the movements of the hands being so correlated that for each speed, when the cut-off gear is set to give maximum draw-bar pull, the cut-off hand will point to the same speed as the speed hand, and a shield covering an area of the dial which the cutofi hand may not invade without setting the cut-off below a predetermined minimum.

2. A speed and cut-oi! indicator for a locomotive, comprising a dial, a speed hand movable over the dial in response to variations of speed of the locomotive, a cut-off hand movable over the .dial in response to variations in settings of the cut-oi! valve gear, the movements of the hands being so correlated that for each speed, when the cut-ofi gear is set to give maximum draw-bar pull, the cut-oil hand will point to the samespeed as the speed hand, an arcuate gage carried by the speed hand and indicating by its length the minimum cut-off setting that can be usedat each speed without afiecting the economy of operation and riding qualities of the locomotive, and means on the dial indicating an area which the cut-ofi hand may not invade without setting the cut-oi! below a predetermined minimum.

3. A speed and cut-oft indicator for locomotives comprising a speedometer adapted to indicate the speed of a locomotive, a pair of dials, a fixed pointer for each dial, and means driven by the speedometer for rotating the dials with respect to their indicators, one of the dials being graduated to indicate for each speed the cut-off in terms of piston stroke which will give maximum draw-bar pull and the other dial being graduated to indicate for each speed a predetermined minimum cut-off setting.

4. A speed and cut-off indicator for locomotives comprising a speedometer adapted to indicate the speed of a locomotive, a pair of drums driven by the speedometer, a pair of fixed pointers, one for each drum, a scale removably mounted on each drum, one of the scales being graduated to indicate, for each speed, the cutofl in percentage of piston stroke which will give maximum draw-bar pull, and the other scale being graduated to indicate for each speed a predetermined minimum percentage of cut-off.

5. A speed and cut-ofl indicator for locomotives comprising a speedometer adapted to indicate the speed of a locomotive, a pair of drums driven by the speedometer, a pair of fixed pointers, one for each drum, 9. scale removably mounted on each drum, one of the scales being graduated to indicate for each speed the cut-oil setting in percentage of piston stroke which will give maximum draw-bar pull and the other to indicate for each speed a predetermined minimum cut-oil setting, the latter scale being also marked to indicate a low limit of cut-oil! setting for the particular locomotive to which it is applied.

WILLIAM BELL WAIT. 

